Planning a Baby Shower? These Tips Make It Stress Free

One of the most pleasant parties to plan has to be the baby shower. The mom-to-be gets so much attention and she can just sit back and enjoy all of the fuss. The key to creating this wonderful event is organization. Here's everything you need to make your upcoming baby shower as festive and memorable as possible!

Consult, Consult, Consult!

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Because the parents-to-be may have more than one shower, it's a good idea to consult with the mommy-to-be. Before you send out invitations, sit down with the mom-to-be and ask her what she would like from this event. What is her idea of a fun shower and who she would like to attend? Most people shouldn't be expected to attend several showers for the same parents, so find out what else is being planned. Let her know that you want herto feel comfortable and most of all, to have fun.

What if you are having a surprise shower? Don't let that stop you from consulting! Talk to the dad-to-be to get ideas of a guest list and an appropriate time. You might even want to consult with other friends to be sure that everything works out smoothly. Again, consider the mom-to-be when having a shower. You want her to feel special, have fun, and be comfortable.

After consulting with the mom-to-be, or others, it is time to plan!

The Theme of The Day

This is the fun part-deciding what you are going to do and how you are going to do it! This can also be the overwhelming part if you have never planned a baby shower before or if you don't feel that you are the creative type. Luckily, you don 't have to haveexperience or creativity to throw a great baby shower.

Some showers are simply a gathering of family and friends chatting, mom-to-be opening her gifts, and eating yummy food. Other showers are more elaborate with special games. If you are thinking of being more elaborate and having a theme, here are some great ideas to get you started:

Consider inviting couples instead of just the ladies. You can play fun games like who can diaper the baby doll the fastest and make it the men against the women. This shower is great for first-time-dads and helps them feel a part of things as the ' big day ' nears.

Does mom-to-be already have everything she needs for baby, but you still want to celebrate this special occasion? Why not throw a Mommy Shower? Instruct guests to bring gifts formom herself (bath and beauty products, gift certificates, etc). You might also consider a "consumable shower" and have guests bring diapers, wipes, shampoo, and other items that run out!

A recipe shower is a great idea. Instead of a card, ask guests to bring their favorite easy-to-make recipes for mom-to-be to use after the little one arrives. Or go one better and have the guests bring a dish ready to be frozen for the mom-to-be for those days when she is just too worn out to cook!

Here's a fun shower that will help the guests determine what to bring as a gift. In the invitations, assign each guest a random time of day and have them bring an appropriate gift. For example, blankets for naptime. Or assign each guest a different room of the house, like the bathroom, and have thembring an appropriate gift.

Have guests bring something that was a favorite of theirs from their childhood for the new baby. Books, movies, security blanket and etc make great gifts with added special meaning.

Have a birthday party! Get a birthday cake, streamers, party hats, and party games! Can you think of a better way to celebrate a birth?

Once you set a date and make a guest list, and pick your theme, you will need to choose a location. It is perfectly fine to have the shower in your own home, but it can be anywhere with enough space. Depending upon your theme, you may even choose a restaurant or an out of the way tearoom!

As the Date Nears

Now that the big decisions are over, you can take a deep breath. You are almost there! As the shower dateapproaches, however, you may again feel a bit of stress. Do you have everything? All the details Have been taken care of? Here is a great list to help you know the answers to those questions.

Two To Three Weeks Before The Event:

Prepare and mail invitations with directions to event. Be sure to keep one for the baby book! Place order for the cake if ordering from a bakery. Choose and purchase decorations and party favors. Purchase prizes for games.

One Week Before The Event:

Determine an accurate guest count. Make follow-up calls, if necessary.

One Day Before The Event:

Purchase food and prepare platters and/or pick up any special food platters ordered. Purchase beverages. Make sure camera has film and/or video camerais loaded and has batteries, etc. Wrap gifts for game winners and review instructions for games. Clean house and party area.

Day Of The Event

Decorated Buy any last minute items Prepare Prepare table area for gifts for the food And most importantly-HAVE FUN!

That's all there is to it! You are now ready to throw a memory-filled baby shower for a special mom-to-be.

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Planning a Baby Shower? These Tips Make It Stress Free

Women in Dresses

Women in dresses convey a number of different things when they walked outside. They want to show off their body while maintaining mutual respect. They want to be admired while remaining professional and classy at the same time. They want to own the office and be the life of the party after hours. For women in dresses, all that matter is finding the right dress to be all of these things at once.

A good number of dress styles these days are created with a simple sexy attitude in mind. The understanding is that women in dresses want a design choice that is slimming, flattering ", sexy and attractive without crossing the line of provocative, frumpy, overwhelming or unprofessional. Designs should be versatile; something that can be dressed up or down, given the right occasion andtasteful accessories. More modern contemporary designs have seen a shift towards retro styles and bold color choices, which combines into a style that pops.

The Lord and Taylor Clothing Department house a line of dresses that ranges from mid-length to floor length, applicable for fancy or formal affairs. A good portion of their fashion collection Uniface utilized patterned color blocking, with large swatches of flat colors in a wide array of shades and tints and fashion patterns determined for all-season wardrobes. Lord and Taylor's selection is best suited for the more mature woman, with conservative color choices and conventional fashion creations.

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The younger generation and playful would find a more suitable clothing choice at H&M. Ranging from short dresses maxi dresses, to thesemodels show off the body at its peak fitness with "clinging qualities, bright ranges of colors for more affordable prices. H&M styles are modern and slimming, and ruffled selections with a very casual grace goes anywhere for women in dresses. These lines of dress fashion are normally inspired by current major fashion designer trends and Hollywood spotlights.

For the biggest names in modern fashion of women in dresses, the Marissa collection has an array of choices from Alexander Wang to Oscar De La Renta. The lengths run the gamut from miniskirts to full-length evening gowns, each with a classic presence unique to its own stitch design. For the modern business woman in high industry or the professional office may find her perfect combination here of sexy, sleek and qualifiedattitude. Casual party goers can also look here for an after-hour cocktail dress or festive wrap.

Nordstrom department stores also contain an arrangement of dress choices ranging from business wear to evenings out on the town. Nordstrom recognizes that women in dresses today follow the current trends of dress style, and they accommodate that. Their top selections include a 70s-inspired color blocking section and bold color choices. Their collection of retro style and color is focused to get ladies ready for the fall season.

Women in Dresses

Party Themes-Top 4 Girl Birthday Party Themes

Planning a child's birthday party is never easy. Children can be very particular in their tastes and wants. It can be a daunting task to have to find the exact theme your child wants at an affordable price. Throughout this article I will list several different ideas for girls birthday party themes.

1. Disney Princess-Most little girls have a favorite Disney princess. Whether it's Cinderella, Ariel, Bell, or the newest Disney princess; Princess Tiana, from Princess And The Frog. No matter the princess it is always a good option for a girl's birthday party. Most Disney products are well stocked and easy to find at any party store location. This makes it that much more appealing for your daughters upcoming birthday.

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2. Barbie-Whether your little girl is mesmerized bythe adventurous Barbie Princess movies or she just loves to play with Barbies; the Barbie party line is a great choice. Many places that sell Barbie birthday themes will have a wide variety to choose from. Much like Disney Princesses your daughter will have her favorite one, making it imperative that you find the right one. Searching online before going to a store is a sure way to know what the store will carry. Don't be afraid to call the store and ask if they have the specific item you need. This will help you avoid a trip back to their return counter and an upset little girl.

3. Stripes or Polka Dots-If the birthday girl is older than 12 you might have a harder time with themes. Sometimes it is safer to do a theme that is a little more general. Stripes and polka dot colors invery vibrant and fun colors can be just the trick to put a smile on their face. Lime green and pink or brown and pink are a very fun and young color pairing that most teenagers will love. It is easiest to shop with them and learn what their style is. Take them to the store with you and find out exactly what they want.

4. Twilight-Another popular teen theme right now is Twilight. Teen girls seem to crave the men of Twilight and would love a whole event themed around the vampires. The popularity of the party theme can cause the prices to be high. I would recommend you look online to compare prices with other places. This will assure that you are getting the best deal for your daughters birthday party.

Party Themes-Top 4 Girl Birthday Party Themes

Make And Edit Movies In High Definition With Your iPhone 4

If you bored and drained out, and you feel to watch a movie, but you are not in the mood to spend and snacks for a movie ticket, the iPhone has the answer just for that. With your iPhone, you can download movies of your choice. With its large memory storage capacity, you can store and watch them all over again, transforming your handy iPhone 4 into a movie collection archive and a portable movie player at the same time.

Those are just the basics though. Aside from being a motion picture library and a mobile movie theater, you can record your own videos in high definition format and edit them afterwards. With its movie application, the iMovie, you can shoot and be creative with the home-made videos that you had just made anywhere, at any anytime. This is indeed lots of fun.All it needs is some touch of artfulness. You can create the home movie all you want.

The application itself is a software platform. This eliminates the need to copy the home-made video to a desktop computer, and do the editing there. Make the changes that you desire on the phone itself. The user-friendly interface and features make it enjoyable for first-time users. Plus, with a variety of built-in themes, you can insert pictures, sounds and music to give it a more exciting and superb quality feel and yet the upcoming iPhone 5 can be expected to have more applications.

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Once you are done, iMovie allows you to share your finished work to your family, friends and virtually to anyone, even if you are continents apart. Load it up in your email, MMS message and even on YouTube.There is no need for professional training. Just keep on tapping the multi-touch screen and learn as you go along without any issues at all. This unique feature is valuable for family excursion, special occasions, important gatherings and presentations. To add more frenzy on the show, just simply attach your iPhone to a compatible device, projector, and now you have a home theater at your disposal for everybody's pleasure and entertainment.

To continue enjoying making and editing movies, have your iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS insurance insurance today. For a small investment, you will get a comprehensive iPhone insurance coverage against theft, accidental damage, water spills and loss. Now, you do not have to worry missing those "should-not miss" moments in life again.

Make And Edit Movies In High Definition With Your iPhone 4

Product Placement on TV

People have gotten more and more tired and frustrated by all the commercial breaks in the shows they are watching the little pop-ups on the screen while the show is on is no less annoying. Commercial breaks become bathroom breaks and snack breaks while the pop-ups are summarily ignored as much as possible. So how does the advertiser get the product in front of an audience without them running for a snack or averting their eyes? Product placement is the answer. One of the more innovative product placement ploys aired on an episode of ' What I Like About You ' at Warner Brothers show that is popular with the young age group of women, has two young women competing for the spot on a new Herbal Essences. Shortly after the competition scene, the station goes to a commercial breakand the actual ad featuring the actress airs for the first time. This is show integration that is so tight it has the audience wondering if it's still the show or an actual commercial and that's all they need to keep the audience in their seat rather than up grabbing a snack.

Ford is hoping to give their new Mustang model to boost by featuring it as part of the plot in the second season of Fox's popular series ' The o. There. The Apprentice will be a vehicle for many advertisers such as Levi 's, Mattel, QVC and Crest just to name a few.

Advertisers are hoping to be so nonchalant about product placement that they get right past your conscious annoyance into your subconscious, planting a seed and hopefully prompting to purchase. More and More the coke can will appear with its labelturned forward, hands conveniently away from the name chooses on the side. When cars come into the scene, they will be the newest model and the name badge will be plainly displayed.

Most product placement is pretty subconscious, others are in your face, an example of that is the Mustang that was featured as the new ' Kit ' in the short lived ' Knight Rider ' series. The upcoming release of the Corvette Stingray will be featured on the upcoming Transformers movie and will basically be the new car's first real public appearance.

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Product Placement on TV

3D Technology in Television

Now The times have changed vastly to bring a modern revolution in almost all things that you use everyday. The old, huge televisions have been replaced with flat screens that have either plasma or LCD screens. Similarly, the movies too have undergone a drastic change and hold a major part in modernizing the world. Somehow, people predicted earlier that the third generation will come to existence and so the 3D movies were taken even long back. How come the movie makers knew that 3D will be the future world? But, with no reason to explain, the third generation is making its heavy tread in the upcoming year.

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3D Technology in Television

Movie Review-An Affair to Remember (1957)

A remake of Leo Carey's 1939 hit "Love Affair" starring Irene Dunne, Charles Boyer, and Maria Ouspenskaya. This same script would be shot (with some cosmetic changes plots) once more time as "Love Affair" in 1994 starring Betty Warren, Annette Benning, and Katherine Hepburn.

Structurally this is a very interesting and lop-sided classic that starts as a comedy and ends at 5-hankie drama. If it weren't for the famous last scenes I doubt if it would have the longevity it had since 1957. Since then it became an almost cult classic and is even paid homage to in Nora Ephron's SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (1993).

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Leo McCarey directed this unusual comedy-drama hybrid. Leo McCarey, Delmer Daves and Donald Ogden Stewart, write the script from the story by Leo McCarey and MildredCram.

The comedy parts in a nutshell:

Nickie Ferrante (Cary Grant) is a jet-setter playboy whose upcoming engagement to the socialite Lois Clark (Neva Patterson), the heiress to a $ 600 million fortune, makes the international headlines. As he is returning from Europe to the United States on the luxury cruise liner Constitution, the much-sought-after Ferrante runs into the redhead Terry McKay (Deborah Kerr), a former nightclub singer whose rich and handsome boyfriend also waits for her back in New York.

Before they know what, their "illicit affair" sweeps them both off their feet. Their transparent attempts to hide the affair from their fellow passengers just create derision and ridicule since they look ridiculous in trying to hide the obvious.

There is a lengthyepisode about Nickie taking Terry to his grandmother when the ship docks at the French Riviera. Grandmother acts as a surrogate mother and gives the stamp of approval to their love affair. This is also when we learn a little bit more about Nickie, the fact that, for example, he never held much of any permanent jobs in his life but is an excellent painter in his own right.

When the boat arrives in New York, though, they have to decide what to do. Unable to break off forever, they make an appointment to meet at the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building 6 months later, at 5:0 pm sharp. They agree that's when they should decide whether to marry one another or not.

During that time Terry goes back to her nightclub singing act in Boston and Nickie picks up his painting and startsworking with a gallery, trying to build a self-sufficient career for himself rather than just relying on the millions of his fiance Lois.

Then on the day of their appointment, the comedy takes a sharp turn into drama. Nickie waits for Terry till midnight but she does not show up because she is hit by a car on her way to see him. But Nickie doesn't know that. He thinks changed her mind and Terry chose to live with her rich boyfriend instead.

A chance meeting at a movie theater kindles the embers of Nickie's continuing passion for Terry who is at that point a wheel-chair ridden woman.

At the last scene, Nickie visits Terry at her home. Terry is sitting on the couch with a blanket pulled over her crippled legs.
This is such a well-written scenes that is worth examininganalytically.

Both characters are too proud to admit what happened on that July day in New York City. Terry hides the truth because she thinks she has lost Nickie forever by not showing up that day. Nickie, on the other hand, who always got his way with women in the past, is too proud to admit that he waited for seven hours that day. That feels like weakness and he does not want to admit his weak hand in this game of bruised hearts. He is also afraid that Terry chose that other guy and married him. I know both pretend that they did not go to the appointment on that July day.

But Nickie learns that she is not married ... then he also remembers what the gallery owner told him about "the girl" who bought his portrait of Terry-she was crippled. As though inspired by angels, Nickiewalks in to her bedroom and is shocked to see his painting hanging on her wall. All of a sudden he understands everything and how much self-denial they both went through suffering for their love and pride at the same. The film ends with tear-jerker that real of a scene where the two lovers throw themselves to each other's arms, with the romantic theme music rising in the background.

This is romantic to film as the NOTEBOOK (2004). Cary Grant at the time was going through his own private misfortunes and that certainly shows in his sensitive portrayal of a happy go lucky playboy who nevertheless is desperately looking for love while denying it in public. At the time Grant was madly in love with Sophia Loren who later turned down Grant for the Italian producer Carlo Ponti.

Highlyrecommended for all who enjoy a good cry once in a while. The fabulous score, "An Affair to Remember" composed by Harry Warren and sung by Vic Damone, was nominated for Best Music, Original Song Oscar for 1958.

An 8 out of 10.

Movie Review-An Affair to Remember (1957)

Hate Being Fat-Believe Me, I Get It

You hate being fat. Does not matter if you are young, old, tall, short, musicals, acting, multi-talented, post-pre menopausal, erectile dysfunctional, post-pre, retired ballet dancer, football champion, hockey star, mom, dad, uncle, aunt, grand person-preschool, elementary or high school, if you are FAT you are doomed! Are you not? But ... why???

This article will help you in some way, no matter who you are. I can say that, honestly, because no matter what your FAT situation, I know that anyone can only start from where they are, right now.

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If you are a kid, or a kid's grandparent, you are fat if you are reading this. You may feel frustrated, isolated, ugly, not-as-good-as, someone-yet this is all based on you comparing yourself to someone else. Skinny movie stars, sportsstars, television stars, compare, compare, compare.

So what will you do next? Yes, of course start a safe, fast. weight loss diet. There are many, and they usually are very expensive. Processed foods providing three meals a day, low calorie, low fat, and full of chemicals that have sadly been associated with Alzheimer's and cognitive impairment. Low calorie artificial sweeteners Or that have been used in medical studies to cause weight gain in animals needed to be fat for medical experiments. All in your Pepsi, Coke, Sprite, and so forth.

If you can vision a diet providing real foods, real food menus and meal plans, all pre-organized for you ....

Hate Being Fat-Believe Me, I Get It

How Old Is Old Enough for Your Kids to Have Cell Phones, Smart Devices?

A growing number of the 90% of North Americans who own cell phones are children under age 18. Parents far and wide grapple with the question: ' How young is too young for a cellphone? " It's a question that, ultimately, parents must decide for themselves, but having at least a few guidelines to help might not be a bad idea. Especially this Holiday Season when kids are going to be clamouring for a phone, tablet, or other smart gadgets.

Chances are, once you read this, your decisions for Christmas giving are already done, but this isn't the only time kids hit their parents up for phones. After the break is done and they go back to school and see all the phones their friends might have gotten? An upcoming birthday? Next spring when they start trading information to keep in touchwith friends during the summer? Those are all going to be ' cell phone beg time. '

=== First, Age Is Not Determined By Years

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"Some 11-year olds are older (more mature) than others. A cell phone at this age might seem too early judging only by years, but in some circumstances, that might actually be tween just about the right age to responsibly use a simple (non-Internet ready) phone. Especially if your child spends a lot of his or her time alone as a latchkey kid or because of scheduling and after school activities like sports or band.

By the same token, some 15-year-olds are not nearly as old as their years. If your teen is a lot less responsible than you think he or she should be (realistically), then a cell phone, especially one with Internet access, is definitelynot going to be a winning situation. Better to wait.

The best advice, I think, is to wait as long as possible before caving in and getting that phone. The phone itself shouldn't be a ' present ' either, in my mind. Accessories for it (pink cases, better batteries, etc.) can be, but the phone itself should be presented as a tool, not a toy. Yes, your child is probably going to become text-crazy-it goes with the territory. Clear and specific rules about the phone's use and how it can be taken away if need be should be set.

Again, the more mature your child is, the more likely he or she will do well with a phone. A cell phone is a symbol of your trust and the maturity level you believe your child has. Make sure they realize that violating that will not be punished with simplemeasures-the phone is entirely temporary.

=== What the Phone Is For

Some safety concerns that the phone can alleviate are possible, of course, but I personally think that these are largely overblown. Yes, payphones are hard to find nowadays, but phones themselves are not. So the excuse that your child can't call home ' is just an excuse. What the phone should really be for is to increase your ability to communicate with your child and to allow them some freedom but freedom that you can both contain and monitor.

Yes, it sounds Orwellian, but really, parents who let their teenagers go without a tether are just begging for trouble. No matter how ' good ' the kid is. Trouble happens. Most phones can have backup features installed that also allow you, as the parent andaccount holder, to access call logs, the phone's contact list, and even text histories-all without access to the phone itself, but from the Web.

A parent who gives a phone to their child and doesn ' t check these things is shirking responsibility. As the child matures and the phone becomes a more normal thing for them to have, then this monitoring can relax or stop altogether. The way I see it, if you trust your child with your car, you should trust that they aren't abusing their phone too.

== The Family ' Loaner ' Phone

At $ 10 a month for an additional, cheap, mostly feature-less phone for the family plan, it's not a bad idea to have one. No matter your child's age, this phone can be given out on an as-needed basis so that they can easily contact you. Your daughter'sfirst slumber party? The phone, so she can call for any reason, might be a good idea. Movies alone with her friends? Another good occasion.

These phones can be given and removed just like house keys or special privileges. If the phone isn't always his, he won't give the number to his friends so they can text and call all the time. This is a good compromise that will abate any real arguments to youngster might have for needing a cell phone at an early age.

Again, everything is subjective. Your family might make decisions for different reasons and a cell phone to your child might be different than another. The decisions are ultimately for parents to make, but I hope that the above has helped as a general guideline to give you something to think about.

How Old Is Old Enough for Your Kids to Have Cell Phones, Smart Devices?

Tips on Holiday Gift for a Paid Homecare Caregiver

With the upcoming holidays ' season, we are contacted by some of our clients asking if they can give their caregivers a small gift for the holidays in addition to their usual pay. It is an understandable sentiment as most of clients consider these Caregivers as "part of the family" and would like show their appreciation for the hard work they provide to their loved ones.

On one hand, we do consider this as a sign that we did a good job when selecting our caregivers. However, giving a gift does raise the expectations for next year and as such, we are recommending on the following guidelines:-

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Low Value-Limit the gift at no more than $ 40. Even in a large corporation, there is a limit to the amount of a gift an employee can receive from a service provider to avoid aconflict of interest.
No Cash-in gift cards or vouchers for entertainment (movies, books) or stores are preferable than money-they show that the person actually went and bought the gift. This will also allow the caregiver to enjoy some personal "me" time while cash may be used for other needs.
No Food (e.g. chocolates)-As with the rest of the population, the caregiver may have specific dietary needs (e.g. Halal, Kosher) or are allergic to certain food (e.g. peanuts).
Not Religion Related-The caregiver may have different beliefs (and may even celebrate different holidays-Charismas, Hanukkah, etc.). Religious related gift may be left unused and some caregiver may even find that offending.
Schedule-when presenting the caregiver with the gift, make sure it is done atthe client site (usually home) and towards the end of the shift-but not after. Some caregivers have a tight timetable (pick up kids, traveling to another client) and may not be able to stay AFTER their shift is over. In addition, taking few minutes from the end of the shift will let them leave that day with a good feeling.
Communicate-It is important to communicate to the caregiver that the gift is a small token to show your appreciation for the good work they have done. Make sure to clarify that this is not as a result of a specific event and that there are no expectations going forward (e.g. work extra).

We believe that following these guidelines will show your appreciation to the caregiver without breaking the client-employee working relationships.

Tips on Holiday Gift for a Paid Homecare Caregiver

This Summer's Movies-A Good Reason to Stay Outdoors?

This past Sunday, the venerable New York Times issued a special section on upcoming movie releases for the critical summer season. Before laying out what we have to look forward to, the first page featured a series of ' Memos to Hollywood "from critics Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott.

I thought Mr. Scott in particular offered up some important, though hardly new, suggestions for the industry:

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1) Allow people to see movies how, when and where they want to;

2) Fix our nitwitted, confusing ratings system;

3) Give some edgy young filmmakers the chance to enliven the embarrassingly stale phenomenon known as film comedy;

4) Political correctness is the enemy of art and entertainment-take a stand; aim for some controversy in your films, get peopletalking;

5) Scorsese and Spielberg-think small again (fat chance); and finally,

6) A depressingly apt and descriptive listing of all the tired formulas still being flogged to the public, accompanied by a heartfelt plea to do something different and better.

Ms. Darghis, working as she does for one of the top surviving newspapers in the land, inspired me less than her colleague. Maybe she is meant to speak for the youth, but the youth I meet are brighter than this.

For example, she saluted Pixar for making a film with a female protagonist (something on everyone's mind), decried the portrayal of effeminate gays (does Sean Penn count?), and asked for more movies with Rachel McAdams and James Franco (I like Franco, but I'm seeing plenty of him. Does he need tojob?).

Most annoyingly, she contradicted a.o Scott's first well made points about the public's desire to consume movies how, when and where they choose by taking the urban public to task for not supporting foreign and independent films at their neighborhood arts-house! After all, "DVDs and downloads pale next to the big-screen experience, and companies like New Yorker films are going out of business!

This is our fault, Manohla? Hollywood's marketing might, which marginalizes the awareness and distribution of these smaller films, is not the primary culprit? And sorry to break it to you, but more and more people watch a good portion of their movies at home, and very happily too, for reasons of price and convenience.

Later I had to wonder if the ensuing irony was evident toanyone at the Times. Moving on from this lead article, I quickly discovered that the rest of the section was dominated by plugs and ads for just the kinds of movies these critics are asking Hollywood to stop making.

Among the cinematic treats in store for us this summer:

The much anticipated re-make of "The Taking Of Pelham One, Two, Three" for those who found the original classic had too many words and not enough bullets;

A drama (yes, drama-and about terminal illness) misleadingly titled "Funny People" starring Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen, logical perhaps in that their latest comedies stopped being funny;

A new variation on the plodding "Da Vinci Code" called "Angels and Demons", with Tom Hanks still sporting that silly haircut (only Hollywood so blatantly aimsto capitalize on failure);

The inevitable sequels ... for "Harry Potter" (he must have chest hair by now), "Ice Age", and the eternally witty, effervescent "Night At The Museum";

For those already nostalgic for "Beverly Hills Chihuahua", the high-minded Jerry Bruckheimer brings us a movie called "G Force" starring-you guessed it-a guinea pig;

Not to mention a new Sandra Bullock (airbrushed) romantic comedy called "The Proposal", starring a much younger man with nice hair named Ryan Reynolds.

Of course, it's not all bad; it never is. To be fair, there are always a few surprise gems buried amidst the muck. Personally, I will be curious to see whether:

The classically beautiful (but never effeminate) Johnny Depp can bring off his portrayal of tough, machogangster John Dillinger in "Public Enemies";

Quentin Tarantino can pull himself out of his recent spate of creative self-indulgence with "Inglorious Bastards", starring Brad Pitt.

Meryl Streep's rendition of Julia Child in Julie and Julia "approaches my own legendary impersonation-search" Julia Childless "on YouTube.

Till these breathless moments arrive, Ms. Darghis, I will stay blissfully at home, watching the Criterion release of "The Friends Of Eddie Coyle" on DVD. Who knows? I may even program my very own Bob Mitchum Film Festival.

This Summer's Movies-A Good Reason to Stay Outdoors?